Manth named Female Athlete of the Year

** PORTRAIT SHOT COURTESY OF DREAM TEAM STUDIOS **

SANBORN, NY — Softball standout Quinn Manth (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) has been named the 2025-26 SUNY Niagara Female Athlete of the Year. The announcement was made by the campus’ athletic department Wednesday.

The sophomore and North Tonawanda resident played a major role in the Thunderwolves’ resurgence, culminating in 14 wins and their first NJCAA Region III Division II postseason appearance since 2023. Manth and the blue-and-gold won 13 of its last 25 games, including 12 wins in regular-season regional play. 

One of six Thunderwolves to appear in all 33 games this season, Manth led the region with 40 stolen bases — also the team high. The total was also fourth-best in NJCAA Division III, behind only North Dakota State College of Science’s Izzi Parsons (64), Joliet’s Lauren Pell (53) and St. Cloud Technical’s Kenzie Hill (43). 

(Courtesy of Geoff Schneider, GMS Photography)

Along with recording a game-high six stolen bases against Onondaga on April 19, Manth also made program history on the base paths. Manth recorded her 79th career swipe in Game Two versus Erie Community College on April 24, passing 2018 graduate Ana Bryer for the program’s modern-era stolen bases record (since 2013) and finished with 80 in 64 career games.

Offensively, Manth finished in the top 10 in the region with a .527 on-base percentage (seventh), a .774 slugging percentage (seventh) and a .443 batting average (tied for eighth). Her 29 runs batted in were second on SUNY Niagara and tied for 19th-most in the region, along with two home runs, 11 doubles, and nine triples. 

A D’Youville commit, Manth recorded both of her home runs with SUNY Niagara during a contest against Finger Lakes April 15, where she also posted a single-game high of six runs batted in, one of seven multi-RBI games this season. She also had 16 multi-hit games, posting a season-high three hits against Manchester University (March 17), the SUNY Adirondack doubleheader (April 4), Finger Lakes Community College (April 15) and Monroe Community College (April 21). 

(Courtesy of Geoff Schneider, GMS Photography)

Along with a .943 fielding percentage at shortstop and second base this season, Manth finished with a career .451 batting average (93-of-206) and drove in 43 career runs in 64 games. Manth’s 93 career hits are the seventh most in SUNY Niagara’s modern era (since 2013), trailing only 2023 graduates Maggiemay Murrins (177), Mariah Semple (131), Shelby Wolf (113), and Mackenzie Gozdziak (102), and 2022 graduates Makayla Montes (95) and 2022 graduate Lydia Serrano (94)

Manth was selected to the NJCAA all-Region III second team, joining teammate and freshman Gianna Simone (Grand Island, N.Y.). This marked the Thunderwolves’ first all-regional selections overall and the first season with multiple honorees since 2023. 

Additional nominees for the 2025-26 Female Athlete of the Year award were women’s volleyball player Cait Cliffe (Ransomville, N.Y.), women’s basketball players Azriel Hall (Lockport, N.Y.) and Isabella Karabetsos (Brampton, Ont.) and softball player Miranda Shingleton (North Tonawanda, N.Y.).